The Third Circuit Prefers Short Briefs

By Robyn Hagan Cain on February 15, 2012 1:15 PM

Brevity is the soul of wit ... and of briefs in the
Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

It seems that the Third Circuit is tired of the lawyers asking for permission
to add extra pages to their briefs. Last month, the court issued
a standing order warning appellate attorneys against filing motions to
exceed the page limitations of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.

What prompted this measure? The Third Circuit Court of Appeals noted that
motions to exceed the page/word limitations for briefs were filed in
approximately 25 percent of cases on appeal, and that 71 percent of those
motions asked permission to exceed the page/word limitations by more than
20 percent. That's a lot of extra reading for an already over-burdened
court.

According to Rule 32(a)(7), the page limit for principal briefs may not
exceed 30 pages. A principal brief is also deemed acceptable if it contains no
more than 14,000 words or uses a mono-spaced type and contains no more than 1,300
lines of text.

The rule generally limits a reply brief to 15 pages, though a reply brief is
considered acceptable if it contains no more than 7,000 words or 650 lines of
text.

For both principal briefs and reply briefs, headings, footnotes, and
quotations count toward the word and line limitations. The corporate disclosure
statement, table of contents, table of citations, statement with respect to oral
argument, any addendum containing statutes, rules or regulations, and any
certificates of counsel do not count toward the limitation.

To combat the extra pages problem, the Third Circuit has established a
three-judge Standing Motions Panel to rule on all motions to exceed the
page/word limitations.

Lawyers should get advance approval of requests to exceed the
page/word limitations whenever possible to avoid the hassle of rewriting and
refiling a compliant brief. Any request to exceed the limitations
submitted in the absence of an advance request must include an explanation of
why the attorney could not have foreseen problems in complying with the
limitations in time to seek advance approval from the panel.

Don't cause trouble for yourself -- or your client -- when appealing to the
Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Either seek advance permission to exceed the
32(a)(7) limits, or keep your briefs ... brief.

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U.S. Third Circuit features news and information from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which hears appeals from U.S. District Courts in Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This blog also features news that would be of interest to legal professionals practicing in the 3rd Circuit. Have a comment or tip? Write to us.